Archive for April, 2009

Some opponents of religion throughout the Internet are always busy making fun of literalist Christians who believe that the earth was created in six earth days and that humanity is only around six thousand years old. These are really weird beliefs in this day of ours. However, the conclusion that the opponents of all religion jump to based on these people’s overly anti-scientific beliefs is another mental and logical oddity. They may deny that this is their intention: but in actual effect, by making fun of the literalist Christians all the time and hence by keeping their beliefs constantly in the forefront, they try to conclude that then all forms of religion must be nonsensical falsehoods. What an illogical way of proving your case…

A literalist Biblical faith is not the only faith possible. Even not all fundamentalist Christians believe such numbers to be literal. Thus when you make fun of such people, you are making fun of that particular individual and those who think like him. You are just entertaining yourselves and pampering yourselves concerning the way you approach monotheism. The religion that we believe is authentic God-revealed religion thus remains untouched by the things you say. In other words, you deceive yourselves.

Written and first posted by myself, under the pen name of Mehmed Mustafa Hamdi, as a reply to the discussion at this blog address. I thought it would be appropriate to edit it slightly and re-post it here also, as a separate and independent main blog post.

Certain prejudices, misconceptions and urban myths abound in the U.S. as well as the entire “West” regarding Turkey and the conception and practice of Islam within it. Unfortunately and rather strangely, some Muslims in the West, especially those educated in Western educational institutions, believe in many of these as well. We really need to remove some of them as soon as possible. Let us examine this issue in the context provided by a specific objection to the activities of a Turkish Muslim group.

A Bosnian Muslim woman wrote on the internet: “If they [the Islamic movement of Turkish origin led by Fethullah Gülen] were concerned about reaching out and bettering the Ummah in the real meaning of Islam, then why not start with Turkey itself! Start up grass roots organizations there, squeeze the secularist oppression and then talk about reaching out to the privileged phD converts!” I just want to answer this objection of hers and below yet another one, so that she and others who think as she does can understand why this movement behaves in some ways they find objectionable and that they appreciate the problems of these people that force them not to act otherwise. The other answer will pertain to the alleged adoption of secularism “by the Turks”.

On another blog where I had written a few comments about proving the existence of God, a Christian wrote in reply to me this sentence among others: “The Qur’an demands Allah’s followers blow themselves up, take as many as they can with them.”

Then I wrote an answer to it, which I want to share on my own brand-new blog in English –i.e. this very one. So, returning to the direly problematic above statement, let me continue with my answer to it…

To be direct, this statement is ridiculous. Neither the Qur’an says such a thing, nor anything like that can be inferred from the Qur’an or from the literature of the sayings of the Prophet (blessings and peace be on him). All who believe such statements concerning Islam, you all must certainly check your sources about Islam which are misleading and (excuse me for having to say this) even deluding you.

Well, then let me elaborate on where suicide attacks and indiscriminate violence are situated in the religion of Islam…